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Title IX Coordinator Training Online Course

Class Two: Conducting a Title IX Investigation

Amy C. Foerster Partner, Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP

Melinda Grier Melinda Grier Consulting & Novus Law Firm, Inc.

Janet P. JudgePartner, Holland & Knight LLP

Training Course Does Not Constitute Legal Advice

Class Overview: • Investigations Involving

Employees

• Investigating a Formal Complaint

• Impartiality/Conflicts of Interest

• Relevance

• Violations of Other Policies

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Investigations Involving

Employees

• Remember that the regulations also apply to employees – both as those allegedly subject to Title IX sexual harassment and as those accused of engaging in Title IX sexual harassment.

• Investigations of formal complaints of conduct potentially constituting Title IX sexual harassment involving employees must comply with the regulations

• Institutions must use the same procedures for employee and student allegations of Title IX sexual harassment. 

The Basics:

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• Title VII also applies.

• Collective bargaining and other contractual obligations might also apply.

•OCR expects institutions to comply with all requirements.

However:

Title VII Requirements

• Standards • Submission becomes a term or condition• Unreasonably interferes with work performance or creates a hostile environment

• Employer knew or should have known

• Immediate and appropriate corrective action

• End the harassment and prevent recurrence

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Special Considerations • Collective Bargaining Rights • Administrative Leave• “Reasonably prompt

timelines” vs. “Immediate and Appropriate Corrective Action”

Investigating a Formal

Complaint

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Conducting an Investigation • Investigator must be free from bias and conflict of interest.

• Don’t restrict the ability of either party to discuss allegations or gather evidence.

• Provide parties written notice sufficient to prepare.

• Allow parties an equal opportunity to identify witnesses,  and other inculpatory and exculpatory evidence.  

• Allow parties to have advisors

• Don’t access, consider, disclose or otherwise use a party’s records prepared by a professional in a treatment capacity without voluntary, written consent.

Interviewing

Consider in advance whether interviews will be:• Recorded or not recorded.• Be followed with written statements or summaries.

In interviewing, the investigator must:• Be prepared.• Be objective and unbiased, free from stereotypes.• Be free of conflict of interest.• Avoid any prejudging of the parties or responsibility.• Demonstrate respect.• Take the lead in seeking evidence (inculpatory and exculpatory) – it is not the parties’ responsibility to investigate.

• Demonstrate respect.• Be alert to non‐verbal communications.

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Review of Evidence • Parties must have equal opportunity to inspect and review all evidence directly related to the allegations.

• Provide access to evidence to both parties and their advisors.

• Ten days prior to completion of the investigative report.

• Consider parties’ written response before completing report.

Investigative Report

• Complete an Investigative Report that fairly summarizes relevant evidence.

• Provide to parties and their advisors for review and response at least 10 days before hearing, 

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Impartiality & Conflicts of

Interest

Impartiality, Bias, Prejudgment & Conflict of Interest

Impartiality –basing a conclusion or decision on the facts rather than on a preference for one party over another; unbiased.

Conflict of Interest –demonstrating bias or inability to be impartial because it will be to one’s own personal benefit or other competing interest.

Bias –a pre‐disposition or pre‐conceived opinion that prevents one from impartially evaluating facts.

Prejudgment –reaching a conclusion before considering all relevant evidence.

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Understanding Relevance

How is Relevance Defined?• September 4, 2020 Guidance.

• Title IX Rule does not adopt the Federal Rules of Evidence for hearings conducted under Title IX.

• “The final regulations do not define relevance, and the ordinary meaning of the word should be understood and applied.” 

• A school may not adopt a rule excluding relevant evidence because such relevant evidence may be unduly prejudicial, concern prior bad acts, or constitute character evidence. 

• A school may adopt rules of order or decorum to forbid badgering a witness, and may fairly deem repetition of the same question to be irrelevant.

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Relevant Evidence • Evidence is relevant if:

• It has any tendency to make a fact more or less probable than it would be without the evidence; and 

• The fact is of consequence in proving or disproving the allegations.

• Does the evidence tend to prove or disprove the allegations?

• A determination regarding relevancy can rely on logic, experience or science.

FED. R. EVID. (401), Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/fre/rule_401

• There is a difference between the admission of relevant evidence, and the weight, credibility, or persuasiveness of particular evidence.

• Because § 106.45 does not address how relevant evidence must be evaluated for weight or credibility by a decision-maker, an IHE can adopt and apply its own rules so long as:

• The rules do not conflict with § 106.45; and • The rules apply equally to both parties.

• For example:• An IHE may, e.g., adopt a rule regarding the weight or credibility (but not the admissibility)

that a decision-maker should assign to evidence of a party’s prior bad acts, so long as its rule applies equally to the prior bad acts of complainants and the prior bad acts of respondents.

• REMEMBER: An IHE’s investigators and decision-makers must be trained specifically with respect to “issues of relevance” and any relevance rules adopted by the IHE should be addressed in the IHE’s publicly available training materials.

Admission vs.

Weight, Credibility, or

Persuasiveness

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What Is NOT Relevant?• September 4, 2020 Guidance.• The Regs direct schools to exclude the following evidence and information: 

• a party’s treatment records, without the party’s prior written consent [§ 106.45(b)(5)(i)]; 

• information protected by a legally recognized privilege [§ 106.45(b)(1)(x)]; 

• questions or evidence about a complainant’s sexual predisposition, and questions or evidence about a complainant’s prior sexual behavior unless it meets one of two limited exceptions [§ 106.45(b)(6)(i)‐(ii)]; and, 

• a decision‐maker is not permitted to rely on the statements of a party or witness who does not submit to cross‐examination [§106.45(b)(6)(i)]. 

Defining Relevance in Policy• September 4, 2020 Guidance.• “An IHE may not adopt rules excluding certain types of relevant evidence (e.g., lie detector test results, or rape kits) where the type of evidence is noteither deemed “not relevant” (as is, for instance, evidence concerning a complainant’s prior sexual history ) or otherwise barred from use under §106.45 (as is, for instance, information protected by a legally recognized privilege).” 

• Hmmm … let’s break it down. 

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All Relevant Information Is Not Created Equal

• May weigh evidence

• Considerations:• Is it corroborated?• Is there a reason the source might not be reliable?• Is it logical given other established facts?

• The Regs require the decision-maker to objectively evaluate only ‘‘relevant’’ evidence during the hearing and when reaching the determination regarding responsibility.

• The decision-maker must determine the relevance of each cross-examination question before a party or witness must answer.

• “Not probative of any material fact.”

Violations of Other Policies

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Violations of Other Policies • Knowingly making false statements or submitting false information

• Sexual Harassment not covered in the regulations but violating campus policies

• Violations occurring in programs or at locations outside the current definition

• Violations that don’t meet the standards under the regulations• Student Conduct violations• Employee Conduct standards

Update notice with later‐discovered allegations.

Questions?

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NoteThe content of this presentation is to provide news and information on legal issues and all content is provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice.

The transmission of information in this presentation does not establish an attorney‐client relationship with the recipient. The recipient should not act on the information contained in this presentation without first consulting retained legal counsel.

If you desire legal advice for a particular situation, you should consult an attorney.

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